Month: December 2024

Open 2025 with the buzz of a balfolk big night out

On the first Saturday of the year, Euroession brings you Cedric Martin and Samuel Godefroi. We encourage you to join us for a dance workshop with Cedric himself, and a shared meal, although you can arrive later for the excitement of the bal. Bring instruments if you’d like to join the post-bal session to play for further dancing.

Schedule
5:00 pm: Doors open
5.15-6.45 pm: Dance workshop – learn some from Cedric’s home region
6.45-8:00 pm: Communal meal – bring food to share
8.00-10.00 pm: Bal – A full on balfolk dance experience
10.00-11:30 pm: Session – Bring your instruments and join in – all welcome

Venue and hospitality
Broomhall Centre, Broomspring Lane, Sheffield S10 2FD
There is no bar at the venue so feel free to bring your own bottle.
If you are joining for both the workshop and the bal, we invite you to bring a dish for a bring-and-share meal. (Please label your contribution to show veggie / vegan / meat and any allergens present).

Tickets
~ Bal only: £10
~ Bal + dance workshop: £10/£12/£15
Tickets available via Ticketstripe and on the door (unless sold out).

About the band
Sam and Cedric both have renowned from other bands: Cedric has led tours with Expire, Big Jeans and Salmanazar (see https://martincedric.jimdofree.com/), whilst Sam played with the balfolk trio Blam! which combines neo-trad, song, and world music influences (listen at https://soundcloud.com/blamfolk).
Samuel has experience on fiddle and with tune composition, whilst Cedric’s training in classical piano and percussion are distilled into his button accordion skills. Enjoy all these talents combined with humour and drive for the evening bal.

About the workshop
Cedric will teach dances from Alsace, the region of France where he has roots. Then later in the bal we will be ready to dance them with confidence (when the band will include in their playlist some of the dances particular to Alsace alongside other more familiar balfolk repertoire).

Caring for others
A quieter room will be available at the venue. We welcome diversity in our community, and encourage you to look out for everyone’s well-being.

See you soon, x Eurosession

Coming together to lift everyone’s spirits

It’s December, the month of sociable indulgence. Join Eurosession for an evening of midwinter cheer, tuneful creativity, and some dancing to lift both arms and spirits!

In the pre-session workshop we’ll transport ourselves to Portugal for some enjoyable and convivial dances. See more about the workshop below. As usual, we’ll follow the workshop with a lovely Eurosession, in which you can contribute dance tunes, request your favourite dance, or relax, get a drink, and chat.

For musicians, we have a challenge for you this week – can you identify any festive tunes that would add a little merriment to our traditional European dancing?

Dance workshop: 8pm – 9pm
Eurosession: 9pm – 11pm
Venue: Shakespeare’s Pub ~ S3 8UB

About the workshop

In the workshop, we’ll take in some traditional and ever popular favourites such as the Repasseado, Regadinho, and Evra Cideiras, These dances are sociable and fun. Some dances are simple enough for children to dance, whilst some will bring the whole body alive with quick wits and nimble feet. We’ll also add a sprinkling of the characteristically expressive Portuguese style to the steps. Expect to end the workshop with a satisfied glow.

This workshop is brought to you by Emily Bowden (musician), and Susannah Diamond (dance teacher). Emily is a talented fiddler who shares her expressive playing with several bands and through her teaching. Susannah has been teaching European dance at Eurosession for many years.

Donations
We suggest £5 for the workshop, although any extra helps us to keep Eurosession inclusive and offer fair rates to teachers and musicians. We accept cash or PayPal transfers (see our donations page).

Caring for others
We welcome diversity in our community, and encourage you to look out for everyone’s well-being.

See you soon, x Eurosesh

Sat 4th January – Save the date!
We’re hosting an exciting January gig with Duo Martin Godefroi – mark your diary for a pre-bal dance workshop with Cedric and Samuel, followed by a marvellous evening bal!